The London Lounge

It is curious how hard to get bespoke boxers from English shirtmakers. Some simply don't do them at all (Stephen Lachter, my man), some quoted quite heavy price tag and a minimum order of identical boxers to cover cloth order (Budd), some do -- and for a reasonable price -- but from a very limited selection of cloth (Udeshi).

I finally got my "bespoke boxers" problem solved in Vienna. "Wäscheflott" is a Viennese shirt factory, with a shop in Vienna; they do bespoke shirts, pajamas, etc -- and, crucially, bespoke boxers. Price? -- 50 euros, for *any* cloth. Repeat: for ANY cloth!! Naturally, I rushed to Alumo book! ...which resulted in four months (!) of waiting time -- they blamed Alumo for slow delivery of the cloth I chose.

But the end result is superb. Single back panel, covered waistband, MOP buttons (not the best quality... but this is the only nitpick I have), very accurate single-needle stitching. Quality-wise, they are at the level of T&A / Budd RTW boxers I used to buy before. But cloth-, fit- and -- surprisingly! -- even price- wise, they are *much* better.





Andrey

P.S.: I can't say anything on their shirts... prefer to stick with my English shirtmaker. But plan to try their pajamas next time I will be in Vienna.

You never see covered waistbands quite like that.

If you're going for the high end, don't give up breathability. Irish linen has a lot of potential down there.

Those are lovely but what about bespoke briefs?!

I've had problems with off the rack boxers. I love them but my mixed results from the rack keep me from the minimums most offer. Lets face it, if we are going to speak about this subject we need to be real. Bunching is my major concern. Of the different brands I've had over the years some bunch and some do not. Is anyone comfortable saying this is THE boxer short to own?

An update on Wäscheflott, after second order.

First, price hike. Now it's 59 euros (per a pair of bespoke boxer shorts) for Alumo cloth, plus tax! This makes it 70 euro a pair, which is more what English RTW makers charge.

Second, buttons. Unfortunately, they are mundane plastic, not MOP as I said before. I overlooked this fact on boxers (there is only a single small button, hiding under a placket), but it is dead obvious on a pajama.

Third, bespoke. I struggled to communicate changes in my pattern to a shop's lady. There is a language barrier as well, of course... The only thing she came up with is re-measuring my body and assuring me they "will double-check the pattern". Which makes me think the pattern is generated (either by a man or by machine -- doesn't really matter) using a formula, not drawn from scratch. This makes it MTM (at least using Michael Alden's criteria), not bespoke.

Thus, Wäscheflott is not really a bespoke boxers nirvana I thought they are. Still, they remain my go-to place for boxers -- as their cut (as MTM as it is) is still better than any RTW I tried, and being once spoiled with cloth selection one have in books vs what is present on stores shelves in ready-made form...

Andrey